Their first big challenge came around three weeks later. Audrey was getting dressed for work while Neil was downstairs getting coffee and sorting breakfast. He gave her a call to say come eat but got no response. He climbed the stairs and as he walked into the bedroom, she was coming out of the bathroom brushing her hair.
"There you are" he exclaimed.
"Where else would I be" she replied with a laugh.
"I called you for breakfast, guess you didn't hear me in there" he smiled as he approached her and took her into his embrace.
With her arms draped loosely around his shoulders, they leaned in for a kiss. As their lips were millimetres apart, it happened. Audrey turned tail and scurried back into the bathroom. Neil stood for a moment, then followed.
"You ok?" he asked as he found her on the floor next to the toilet.
"I think so" she replied. "If I'd had breakfast already, then I would have just lost it" she said with a grimace.
"Can you stand? Maybe you should try eat something, come on" he said holding out his hands.
She pulled herself up and as he dropped a light kiss onto her lips, she felt her stomach roll again.
"Let's go" she said shakily.
After the little bathroom detour, breakfast would have to be on the go. Audrey got her jacket and bag ready and Neil handed her some toast. She took a big bite and gave a satisfied sigh and Neil gave a laugh.
"I've never seen anyone so happy to eat toast."
"Thank you" she smiled as she passed him his jacket. "Ready?"
"Always" he replied, heading out front to open her car door.
She locked up and followed behind and as she went to get in the car, she gave him the usual kiss. Her hand flew to her mouth and she turned her head, afraid she would lose the small amount of breakfast she had eaten.
"It's the coffee " she said once she felt confident to remove her hand.
"What is?" he asked, looking concerned.
"The coffee. The taste of coffee is turning my stomach" she groaned. "This is not good."
"Just the taste" he asked. "We can fix that, don't worry."
"Let me see" she said taking his coffee cup. She moved the lid to one side and gave a sniff. That was not the best idea, she sat down heavily. "It's the smell too" admitted disappointedly.
"Oh crap" he replied. He took their cups and placed them back by the front door. "They can stay there for now" he said with an apologetic smile.
"This could be a problem" she said as they pulled off the drive and started their journey to work. "How am I even going to get past the lobby without losing my stomach" she said flatly.
"We'll figure something out, don't worry."
Pulling up in the hospital parking lot, they parked in their usual space. Instead of going through the main lobby, they took an alternative entrance to avoid the heady morning aroma of the coffee shop.
"This is why we told Dr Murphy" Neil smiled as they made it to their offices unscathed. "He'll notice this kind of thing."
"Absolutely" she replied. "We'll tell everyone we're trying to get more steps in our day. See if they buy it" she said smiling.
"I'm sure nobody will notice" he agreed. He dropped a kiss on her lips and smiled as there was no negative reaction. He took advantage and did it again. "See you later, have a good day" he said as he headed out the door.
"Bye love" she replied.
For the next few weeks, they carried on using the alternative entrance. They brought their to-go cups from home every shift, but filled with a bland, odourless tea and carried on as usual. Then one afternoon, Audrey was passing through the lobby late afternoon. It was quieter after the lunchtime rush had passed and as she walked by the coffee counter she braced as she expected her stomach to roll.
It didn't come.
She stopped for a moment. She dared to take a deep breath and an enormous smile graced her face. Nothing, no reaction.
She excitedly queued, purchased two large decaf coffees and almost skipped to the elevator.
She burst into Neil's office breaking his concentration, making him curse.
"What's going on, you ok?" he asked with a worried look.
"It is" she said bouncing on her toes. "I got you a coffee. Drink it."
"Okay" he said with a confused look on his face. He took a sip and sighed. He had missed that taste.
"Bit more" she encouraged.
He was happy to oblige and took a longer drink. She smiled widely and took his confused face in her hands. She kissed him, a long, slightly inappropriate kiss for work.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what's going on?" Neil asked.
"It's gone" she replied excitedly. "The sickness has passed. Coffee is back on the menu."
"Second best news I've ever had" he said laughing and kissing her again.
X
Neils earlier observation was right, as usual, and the time just flew by. Soon enough they were sat back waiting at the clinic for their first scheduled sonogram. They'd had one to confirm the pregnancy early on but this time around, they were excited that they would be able to see so much more.
They sat tucked away in a corner waiting patiently to be seen. It was as busy as usual so they kept any conversations hushed.
"Are you ok? Audrey asked.
He startled slightly away the whisper in his ear. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You're just quiet" she replied. "Are you nervous?"
He looked down at his hands but stayed silent.
"It's ok to be nervous you know. I certainly am" she continued. "I know I shouldn't have but I've looked into what today is all about and it's made me a thousand times worse than I was."
He looked up and as their eyes met, he smiled. "What did I tell you woman" he laughed. "You're going to be the biggest pain in the ass patient ever aren't you?"
"Pretty much" she agreed. "You'll have to be the perfect patient for both of us" she said nudging his side.
The call eventually came "Mr and Mrs Melendez."
They took a deep breath and got up hand in hand to head to the exam room.
"If you would like to hop up on here please" asked the technician gesturing towards the bed.
Neil held out his hand to help Audrey. She lay back and got herself comfortable and Neil stood right by her side.
"If you could lift your shirt for me" she asked. "Thank you" she continued as Audrey obliged. "I'm just going to put this gel here, it'll be a little cold. Are you ready?"
"As we'll ever be" replied Neil talking Audreys hand. "We can get pictures today right?"
"Absolutely" she replied. The technician moved the wand slowly over her stomach, pressing gently and tapping on her keyboard with her other hand.
They both looked at the screen and there it was. The black and white blur on the monitor in front of them stilled as the sonographer snapped an image and turned the screen towards them.
Her words were just background noise as they stared, just looked at the screen. Neil glanced down at his wife, lifted her hand to his lips and held it there. She startled slightly at the movement and looked back up at him. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at the form on the screen.
"You ok?" she whispered.
"Yeah" he replied quietly. "That's amazing. You're amazing" he continued.
The technician snapped them out of their trance. "That's all the measurements done, if you wanted to clean up a bit and head back to the waiting area? The doctor will call you in to go over things."
"Thank you" they replied together.
X
After a short wait, they were called in to see Dr Churchill.
"Congratulations" she said with a smile. "You have a healthy, viable pregnancy going on in there."
Neil and Audrey let out the breath they didn't realise they were holding.
"All the measurements are great and we estimate your due date as 7th May."
Those words made everything that more real. Six months time their lives would change for ever.
"We will monitor you, of course but your prenatal care can follow the normal route. You are technically classed as a 'geriatric mother'" she said using air quotes.
Neil actually snorted at this comment, to his and Audrey's surprise. She gave him a look, he composed himself and they turned their attention back to Dr Churchill.
"But as long as you take care of yourself then it's like any other pregnancy. I'll see you third week of December for your anomaly scan unless you need anything in between" she finished.
"Thank you so much" Audrey said as she stood to leave and shook her hand.
"See you December" Neil said confidently.
They made their appointment for December 18th on the way out and strolled to the car. They sat for a moment in the parking lot just looking at the roll of black and white images.
"I can't believe we did that" Neil smiled. "We sharing the news now?"
Audrey looked serious. "Can we wait a little longer?"
"Sure, but why?"
"She called the next scan an 'anomaly scan', what if it picks something up?"
"You want to wait until then?"
"Yes please" she replied.
"Ok" he said, a little disappointed. "Your going to start to get a little bump you know."
"Yeah, but the weather is cooling down. I can wear bigger, looser tops."
"You've thought about this before today haven't you? I didn't realise it was bothering you. I'm sorry."
"A bit" she replied. "And you don't need to apologise, you're not a mind reader" she said taking his hand.
He smiled at her. A big, dimple making smile. "We'll do whatever you want" he said. "Whatever puts your mind at rest, you're the boss."
"Thank you" she replied. "I'll hold you to that, you know" she said with a wicked smile.
"What."
"I'm the boss" she said with a laugh.
"Was there ever any doubt" he said laughing.